Sunday, December 30, 2012

Hey guys, this might be our last full news post of 2012, and while I had intended for it to be half focused on New Year's Eve metal/hard rock concert previews, one of the announced shows has been cancelled, that being Turner Up's planned return gig at Gusto's Bar & Grill tomorrow night. A reason was not announced, beyond the band saying "Cancelled sorry." on the Facebook event page, but no matter why, it's disappointing all around! It'd have been a pricier gig, but Turner Up have been missed in recent months, and hopefully they and Gusto's will be back next year! That said, we have one other heavier New Year's show to preview, plus news on a potentially intriguing new Bon Soo event, a new video, and more news, so read on below for what you need to know!

In what's likely the last hard rock concert of 2012 in the Sault Ste. Marie area, Kinross hard rockers Banned will return to Todd's Tavern in nearby Moran, Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT to end the year on a high note and ring in 2013! This marks the second straight year that they've played a New Year's Eve gig in the area, and Todd's Tavern has been a decently active venue for them in 2012, so hopefully they rock the house with their covers & originals! Note that guitarist Alex Schrovenwever is home for the holidays, but I have not definitively heard one way or the other on if he'll be back with Banned tomorrow (I'll let you know if I find out!) Aside from the New Year's setting and likely partying associated with it, everything seems fairly normal for this show, with Banned on at around 8:00 PM tomorrow, a 21+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the band's Facebook page!

If you're looking for a hard rocking way to end 2012, head down to Moran (50 minutes from the Soo, 15 minutes from St. Ignace) to enjoy the Traynors and company as they deliver some diverse and entertaining live music! For a preview, here's Banned covering The Rockets' "Oh Well" this summer!

Next up, here's some information on a potentially intriguing new event that could have some metal/hard rock representation! As announced on SooToday two weeks ago, the annual Bon Soo Winter Carnival in Sault Ontario has joined forces with The Public Relations & Event Management Program to create a new performance area for this year's 50th anniversary, and it's entitled The Marquee. It's planned to be a platform for locals in the arts, culture, and performance communities to perform live in Bellevue Park during this year's carnival. Partially funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Bon Soo's currently looking for local artists, performers, and entertainers to perform at The Marquee this year between February 2nd and 10th, and with no announced restrictions on who could perform, this could open the door for metal and hard rock bands to at least apply! If you're interested in applying to perform at Bon Soo's Marquee this year (or in volunteering), e-mail snow@bonsoo.on.ca and visit the above links for more information!

This has a lot of potential, especially to further integrate local artistic and musical talent into the festival! Since the yearly battles of the bands dried up, there has been a need for more local music, and maybe this will be a way back in for many of the area's talent in that field, metal or not! I'd recommend looking in to applying to play at The Marquee in February, as you never know what could happen!

Thirdly today, here's the latest video from the hard rock cover trio from Superior Heights Collegiate performances that we featured a lot of on the site earlier this year! Featuring guitarists/bassists Liam Seymour (Sailor's Tongue) & Adam Gualtieri alongside a still unknown drummer, this is this band's first posted video since April, and it's a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" as filmed on Halloween (hence the Hulk Hogan & hippie costumes.) Though the video is in black & white for some reason, it's well edited, and despite not being a heavy song, the guys show good talent, with Liam's vocal range up to the task compared to the original! Check out their newest video below, and see more of Adam & Liam's covers at this location!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

In my e-mail conversation with 415E/Highest of Fives drummer Devin Anderson last week, he mentioned that Free Refill might come back in the summer for some shows. The band initially went inactive in the spring following half the band's move from the area for college, but according to a tweet on The Highest of Fives' Twitter page, Free Refill may have played at a school assembly on May 18th (though I can't 100% confirm that.) Fingers crossed that we haven't seen the last of them though!

Also in Highest of Fives-related updates, they have revealed on their Twitter page that their home recording studio is called The Beat Lab Studio, while there have been tweets there as well alluding to their "summer tour". It'd be awesome to see them, Free Refill, AND 415E gigging this summer, as the Sault Michigan scene could use the extra bands, but I'll keep you posted if we hear anything definite!

According to a Musicians Wanted Facebook group posting on December 17th, veteran local drummer Glen Thomas has added Wishbone/Flat Stanley bandmate/guitarist Tony Kajnar to his Mourning Glory project, and they're looking at playing live cover-centric shows in 2013, with covered bands including Porcupine Tree & Friction Plane. This could potentially shift the project from it's heavier leaning originals, but anything different and talented would be an asset locally, so message Glen at this location, and keep an eye out!

That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for our look back at an up and down year in the local scene, so what happened in 2012? Our year in review post will be up tomorrow, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone!

Friday, December 28, 2012

It's time for our final monthly feature post of 2012, and after a month to update past profiles in this series (and some illness/vacation related delays), we're back to normal doings in our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile Series! Once again, we're looking at a band that is based outside of the Sault Ste. Marie area, but features at least one past or present member that has shared a local residence, and like in earlier installments, we're telling you about the bands, their local ties, their material, and more! This month's chosen band is small by member count, but big in sound and promise, so read on below for our last entry in this series of the year, and if anything's missing or incorrect, please tell me! (Updated on November 26th, 2014)
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Local Info: The Dyadics have 50% local representation thanks to frontman Kevin Kennedy, who is a native of Sault Ontario! I don't know a ton on his local background (beyond any mutual local contacts), but he moved to London to attend the University of Western Ontario at some point, likely in the early-mid 2000s, and still lives and works there in both the education field and in various musical projects. Along with his work in The Dyadics, Kevin has toured Canada playing guitar with The Neverending White Lights, and also performs with his wife in the London folk duo The Marrieds.

Band Bio:Formed in 2009, The Dyadics a two man project featuring two London-based teachers and UWO graduates playing a diverse blend of hard rock and experimental styles. Started following frontman Kevin Kennedy's spell opening for Our Lady Peace with The Neverending White Lights, he called in friend Matt Weston to produce and drum for the project, which opted to remain a duo following unsuccessful bassist auditions, with Matt playing bass parts on a Roland Octapad simultaneously while drumming for live concerts. Since The Dyadics' debut, they independently released their self titled debut album in 2010, followed by the EP "Dead & Gone" in 2011, and have steadily made a major name in the Southern Ontario music scene, including numerous concerts since their debut gig in March 2010, and being nominated at the 2012 Jack Richardson Music Awards. Currently recording a new CD, keep an eye out for Kevin & Matt on stage and in studio in 2013!

The Dyadics have a different sort of sound from what we usually look at in this series, and while the duo aspect helps for that, Kevin & Matt have crafted a melodic and often poppy take on hard and classic rock in this band! Their songs don't sound like just two guys are playing, which is proof of their talents, and they employ some nice hooks and catchy melodies into their songs, even if not all of their originals are of a face melting quality. I prefer their newer output, which has a slightly darker and heavier feel than their 2010 debut, but on both, they show solid skill and chemistry, with Kevin's guitar work impressing (along with his nice vocal range) and Matt's drumming and bass supplying also adding well! The Dyadics' sound is familiar in some ways and original in others, somewhat coming across to me as a mix of indie and hard rock, but if "Dead & Gone" is any indication, the best is yet to come from Kevin & Matt, so don't let them slip you by!

For online media, both of The Dyadics' albums are available for free streaming at this location, but feel free to support the guys by buying their albums at this location, and both releases on BandCamp by clicking here! They go for about $5 for the EP and $10 for the debut. For videos, there are some solid quality live videos from YouTube user Anthony Silvestro that I recommend checking out, but The Dyadics' own YouTube channel has some quality videos of it's own, including two music videos, such as this one from the title track from their latest EP, so give it a look below, and check out more above!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! We'll kick off 2013 in this series on or around January 26th with a long awaited profile of Bury Your Demons, the Montgomery, Illinois metal band featuring Sault Michigan native Scott Mills, so watch out for that next month, and stay tuned for more news and out look back at the year 2012 in the next few days! Thanks everyone!

Hey guys, I apologize in advance if this post is somewhat lacking, but I got a bad cold when I was out of town, and it's sapping a lot of my energy. That's also partly to blame on our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile not going up on Boxing Day as scheduled, but I will try (I stress, try) to have it up tonight. That all said, the show must go on, so we have previews of this weekend's metal/hard rock shows (we'll cover the New Year's Eve shows on the weekend) and a couple of new videos, so here's what you need to know!

In an oddly light metal concert weekend(especially given that it's still the holiday season), we do have a couple of shows going down TONIGHT, including yet another new concert from local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings! In what's likely to be their last show of 2012, the guys will return to The Canadian Nightclub just two days after they rocked the Pim Street bar with Stiffler's Mom, only this time, the stage is theirs alone to rock their fans with their already wide assortment of covers and originals! There's not a whole lot else different to say about it compared to their Wednesday show, but The Suicide Kings should still be in gear to deliver the rock to all in attendance, so don't miss out! Admission should be around $5 for this 19+ concert, and a 10:00 PM start time is listed on the Facebook event page. Check the above links for more details, and though I don't believe my cold will be improved enough to go see The Suicide Kings tonight, I encourage you guys to head out! For a preview, here's The Suicide Kings playing their song "Into The Fray" at The Canadian last month!

The other heavier concert on this last weekend of 2012 (that I know of, at least) involves the return of Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's solo acoustic show TONIGHT! Two weeks after his latest show at this venue, he'll return to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road for his last announced concert of 2012, and like his other recent gigs, Tym's unplugged acoustic covers should attract a nicely varied crowd of revelers and fans, so if you're up for a mellower Saturday evening of metal, a trip to the East End for Tym's next solo show would probably work out! Admission is likely free, a 19+ age limit seems likely as well, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should also be a solid show for the weekend's concert schedule, and while I'm sure tonight's Inner City Surfers gig at The Rockstar Bar will steal many of the headlines, keep Tym's show in mind as well if that's what you prefer! For a preview, here's Tym covering Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" at Bossy's earlier this year!

We'll close this post with new videos, starting with the newest solo performance clip from ex-Sneaky Pete/Foothill Road guitarist Mario Carlucci! Posted onto his YouTube channel last week, this actually is a cover of Neil Young's "My My Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)", and while it's not as heavy as his most prominent local band work, he sounds good here! Vocally, he sounds somewhat limited, but his voice is noticeably stronger than Neil Young's. The lighting is odd, with only a blob in the upper left lit to show Mario vaguely, so this is more notable for the audio, which is well performed if reserved from Mario's normal output, but check out his newest video below!

Finally, local hardcore quintet Destroilet uploaded their new song "Eternal Fire" to their YouTube channel yesterday for fans to stream! One of two new videos posted there (including this 3 second plug for the iTunes release), this marks the first time in 2 years that the band has uploaded new videos there. Unless you haven't heard "Eternal Fire" yet, there's nothing majorly new to document here, but for some hard hitting old school hardcore punk, check out their newest videos above and below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post this weekend, along with our Dyadics profile very shortly, I hope! Thanks everyone!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

I hope everyone out there had an awesome Christmas! We're back to the normal swing of things on this snowy Boxing Day, and that includes information on a new and in-progress CD from a local hard rock solo project, a preview of a holiday concert TONIGHT in Sault Ontario, and leading things off, news and information relating to our newest band addition on the SMS! Without any further adieu, here's what you need to know!

We have a new-ish band to add to our local metal band links, and they are Sault Michigan hard rock/metal quartet The Highest of Fives! We actually touched on them on the site last summer following their participation in last year's Sugar Island Music Festival, but I only just heard about their recent activity and online information this week. As it turns out, they are indeed heavier in sound, and their disappearance following their gigs last summer was part of what's described as a 6 month hiatus on their new official Twitter page. Fully returning to activity in March, the band (who are presumably named after a reference from "How I Met Your Mother") still features Hoist the Sails bassist Mitch Goetz on vocals alongside 415E's Jack Slater on bass & Devin Anderson on drums, while they added Mitch's Hoist the Sails bandmate Marcel Grengs on guitar earlier this year. Note that it looks like Devin switched to drums to replace ex-Free Refill bandmate Mike Pascoe in the band, and though his departure hasn't publically been addressed, I understand that he is attending college out of town currently.

With their return, The Highest of Fives are actually working on a debut EP entitled "Bang!", so what should you know about it? I can't say much yet, but on Saturday, they did post a video onto Devin's YouTube channel previewing it. Enclosed are a number of short clips (many from a cell phone camera) of the band members tracking instruments and/or having fun, along with some other random asides (including cameos from Marcel's alter ego), and it somehow shows us a lot without telling us much. The music we do hear has promise and some clear heaviness, but hopefully we won't have to wait too long to get some longer "Bang!" samples! Check the above links for more details, and huge thanks to Devin for alerting me to these and other updates concerning his local bands, including a correction I should mention. In his other active band 415E, Devin's actually the drummer, not "Sonny Menard", who I had credited in the role last month. Sonny is actually 415E singer Dave Menard's nickname, but both names are credited separately on their Facebook page, so that (plus only knowing of Devin as a guitarist & not a drummer) added to the confusion on my end.

My sincere apologies to the guys in 415E for the mix-up, and thanks again to Devin for the news! Of course, stay tuned to the SMS for updates on the quartet 415E as they come in, but for now, check out The Highest of Fives' new video below, and they're now in our active Sault Michigan band links!

Next up, here's a preview for a special Boxing Day concert going down TONIGHT at The Canadian Nightclub in Sault Ontario, where two recently prominent rock bands will return to the stage, including new local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings and local rock veterans Stiffler's Mom! This is only the latest in The Suicide Kings' frequent concert schedule, but this will be Stiffler's Mom's first concert since Toystock last month, an event that The Suicide Kings also played at. Aside from the seasonal aspect of it all, there isn't a huge amount of differences with this show compared to either band's usual gigs, but I can confirm that the bands will alternate sets through the night, with The Suicide Kings playing first & Stiffler's Mom playing last overall (thanks to Suicide Kings guitarist Steven Flint for the info!) The pairing is fitting beyond the Toystock connection, with Stiffler's Mom drummer Greg Simpson being an ardent supporter of the new alternative hard rock band, and Stiffler's Mom are known to throw down some heavy metal covers here and there live, so you won't wanna miss this show!

Admission should be in the $5 range for this 19+ concert, and a 10:00 PM start time is listed. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an entertaining concert full of rock covers and originals from two very talented bands, so don't miss out on the Boxing Day action TONIGHT! For a preview, here's Stiffler's Mom embracing their metal side with an Ozzy Osbourne cover at Toystock!

Finally for today, here's the latest from Haggith drummer Mike Haggith's solo project! Following the release of his newest solo album "Neighbourhood Watch" last month, he's been working on new original material for future release, and that includes his planned 46th album "The Present Din"! Planned to be recorded and released through his solo label Galactic Records (though potentially with some work through the Haggith band's label PaperClip Productions), Mike has said that this album will be lighter than his last album, with many slower "piano-based jams" and occasional heaviness. A 2013 release is likely for "The Present Din" (cover on the left), but a timeframe is not out yet, and like Mike's last album, this is all subject to change. However, he did post two instrumental demos of planned songs for the album onto his solo Facebook page (where we got the rest of these updates) last week, including tracks named "Careless Space" and "Her Song", so click each link to hear them! As Facebook video uploads, I can't share them here, but there is some softer promise in the songs, so keep an eye out for more "Present Din" updates, and hopefully we'll see this album's release quicker than "Neighbourhood Watch"!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you guys got lots of presents and are enjoying the holiday season, and as one last present for you guys, we have a very seasonal post today full of Christmas surprises and holiday-referencing videos from recent years, including info on a Christmas album you guys should get, a Christmas-draped performance from a couple of years ago, and our last surprise audio uploads for the year, but first, here's this week's classic video (and our final one of 2012!)

Knowing that the last full week of 2012 would fall over Christmas, a seasonal metal video would work here if it was able to find, and we found one, as this is of defunct Sault Ontario metal quartet Fountain of Betrayal covering "The 12 Days of Christmas" at a Case's Music event on December 21st, 2008! We already uploaded one Facebook video of F.O.B.'s set that day onto our YouTube channel (a Beastie Boys cover), but this one fully embraces the Christmas spirit, with the 2008 Case's Battle of the Bands winners putting a hard rock spin on this classic carol! Now, it is differently arranged and shortened, but the members do show their talents for their young ages, including March Into Regression bassist Tyler St. Amour on bass & vocals, his brother/bandmate Travis on drums, and guitarists Chris West and Ryan (last name unknown, any help?) If anything, the shortening of the song doesn't work to it's advantage as it's too obvious for the cuts, but it's well performed, especially knowing that the members were preteens at the time! This was originally uploaded to Facebook by attendee Kelly Godson the day of the show, and you can view the original video at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=105145970261.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Fountain of Betrayal and Kelly, I'm just trying to share it with a deserving wider audience! For seasonal local metal, this video should work well, so check it out below, and stay tuned for news on the St. Amour brothers' next band projects when/if I hear of them!

Next up, here's our final surprise Christmas audio uploads of the year, and it's a full CD, that being defunct Sault Michigan metal band Integrated System of Machines' only album "Apocalyptic Vision"! One of the most prominent original metal acts in the area in the mid-late 2000s, I.S.O.M. independently released this album on March 6th, 2008, with it being available at the band's later concerts, as well as online through various sites for a couple years afterward. As best as I can tell, the band's lineup on this album featured Powerslug drummer Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten on vocals, along with Chris Sevens on guitar, J. Rizzo on bass, former Dust N' Bones drummer Bart "Black Trab" Rennels, End of Existence/Theater of Night keyboardist Craig "Tubesock" Harrison, and Rachel Mender on operatic & backing vocals. Some of the lineup information is incomplete, but if you can fill in any blanks, let me know! Little else is publically known on the album through surviving online pages, but it's definitely out of print now, and I don't believe it's even on sale digitally on any active music websites.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All 10 of these songs deserve a wider audience, especially to introduce I.S.O.M. to newer fans, though partial successors End of Existence's first album does share many sound similarities. I won't individually credit every song from this album on here just to save space, but click here to see each YouTube upload, and of course, you can stream the album through I.S.O.M.'s Reverbnation page. It's a solid quality album of epic death metal, with nice heavy riffs and brutal vocal work (as alluded to in my review of this album), despite some production flaws, so check out the album's title track below, and more at the above links!

We'll close our Christmas Day post with just some light seasonal fare, starting with I.S.O.M. keyboard slayer Craig Harrison's current work, including the classical metal band Theatre of Night, who are hard at work once again on their ever-evolving debut CD "Christmas Night"! Originally released in the fall of 2010, the album has been re-released once already, and while a planned 2012 re-release with new downloadable tracks hasn't came out (from what I've seen), the best is yet to come next year, as they're overhauling the album with new arrangements and material featuring German soprano vocalist Gaby Koss! The first samples with her on vocals came out a couple weeks ago, and you can of course search the SMS using the form in the upper left for detailed coverage of their recent activity and 2013 plans. For today, enjoy the band's most recent video, which features Theater of Night's rendition of "What Child Is This?" with Gaby's very impressive singing, and keep an eye out for more big news from the Theatre of Night camp in the coming months!

Lastly, here's a video from December 27th, 2010, when three local bands descended upon Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) for The Nightmare After Christmas Party! Despite numerous pre-show lineup changes and a visit by the police over a noise complaint, the concert was a hit, from RedD Monkey's entertaining headlining set to the impromptu return of Reagle Beagle, but the video we're focusing on is from Frightlight, who added a belated festive spin to their set by having the members & stage decked out in Christmas attire (with a horror flair, of course!) Featuring the band's late 2010-early 2011 lineup (singer Johnny Pints, guitarist Rick Styles, bassist Eddie Fright, and ex-drummer Jeff "The Count" De Rose), this video is of their song "C.H.U.D.", which definitely isn't seasonal, but it's a cool song all the while! Apologies for the quality, I believe I used a borrowed camera that night. Quite possibly the last Christmas themed concert at Foggy's before it's name & owner changes, this was a solid show from what I remember (I still have the band-autographed bloody Santa shirt), and you can catch a glimpse of what went down 2 years ago below!

Once again, merry Christmas from the SMS, and here's to an even better holiday season in 2013! We'll be back to normal news and posts tomorrow, including this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on The Dyadics in the next few days! (Maybe tomorrow, but it depends on personal timing.) That and more are coming though, so stay tuned!

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Before we get to this post, I just wanted to briefly apologize for not getting Powerslug's show at Dan's Place in Rudyard on here on Friday. We didn't have enough news that night to supplant a short notice post (especially given that the show was announced on short notice), but hopefully Facebook gave you guys some word on it, and hopefully it went awesome! Now, today's post features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for two New Year's Eve shows, a new guitar performance clip, and our fourth Christmas surprise uploads, so here's what you need to know!

After 3 months away from the local concert stage, local classic hard rock quintet Turner Up will be back for one last time in 2012 on New Year's Eve at a venue we've never touched on before, that being Gusto's Bar & Grill at the Wellington Square Mall on Trunk Road! We only tend to talk about The Rad Zone and The Roadhouse this far east, but Gusto's has booked scattered live music acts this year, and their restaurant is well received from what I can tell, so hopefully they'll be up to the challenge of Turner Up's classic hard rock stylings one week from tomorrow! Notably, this will be Turner Up's first concert with their full lineup since July (guitarist Jason Roy missed their September gigs at The Nic), but I'd expect them to be back to their old ways next week to end 2012 on a high! I just wish they played a bit more frequently, but maybe 2013 will be busier. Now, this is essentially a New Year's party with live entertainment, not the other way around, so I'll warn you now that tickets are $45 for adults and $20 for minors, but this also includes a midnight buffet and dancing and all the rest.

Tickets are available at Gusto's in person or through Turner Up band members, while I'd expect a 10:00 PM-ish start time. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Turner Up back, even if in somewhat unfamiliar waters, so if you can swing the admission price, it'd be worth coming out to see the guys (and girl) pump out some heavier leaning covers to ring in the new year! Stay tuned for any potential updates!

The other newly announced concert for New Year's Eve will go down at Todd's Tavern in Moran, Michigan, where Kinross hard rockers Banned will return for one last concert of the year! As revealed on their Facebook page yesterday, this is (I think) Banned's second New Years Eve concert in the area since their inception, and given that Todd's Tavern has proven to be one of their favourite recent venues, I'd expect their covers and originals to be in top shape next Monday! Note that I believe guitarist Alex Schrovenwever is back home in the Eastern U.P. for the holidays, which could facilitate his first show with Banned since August, but I've heard no confirmation either way on if he'll be back with Banned next week. This show has an 8:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a likely 21+ age limit, so check the above links for more details! This should be an exciting concert, perhaps the last heavier one in the Sault Michigan area this year, so if you wanna ring in 2013 in a rocking way, a drive to Moran might work next week! If any updates come in, we'll have them here!

We'll close with some new videos, starting with the newest video from Ashes to Dust guitarist Alex Hemy! Posted on his YouTube channel on Friday, this is of his cover of John Mayer's "Vultures", in what's actually his first solo video in over a month. It's well performed for the style, if somewhat minimalistic without a backing track, but hopefully Alex has some heavier songs in the works to cover too! Check out Alex's latest solo guitar cover below!

And finally for today, here's our fourth batch of surprise song uploads for the Christmas season, and it's the only CD from inactive local metal band Stillbroke! As you may remember, the future Borderline Divine released their debut EP "Never Enough" in November 2009, which was recorded with producer Miguel Gauthier at Stereo Soul Studios in early 2009 with the band's classic lineup, including singer/guitarist Jesse Frigault, future drummer Sam DeDominicis on rhythm guitar, current Sailor's Tongue frontman Kyle McKey on bass, and Jenny Hooper on drums. Featuring 5 tracks ("Never Enough", "No Reason", "Forget", "Wash It Away", and "Tear Me To Pieces"), the EP was well hyped during it's release, including a music video for "No Reason" with their 2010 lineup, but "Never Enough" went out of print that year, likely around the beginning of their 2 year concert hiatus. Over three years removed from it's release, I thought it'd be nice to finally post the full "Never Enough" EP online for fans to check out for the holidays, especially as it captures Stillbroke at what was arguably their peak in the local music scene!

Though there are a few noticeable absences (i.e. "Sick & Tired" and their self titled song), their talents were on full display, with Jesse's melodic and heavy vocals contrasting well with their hard rock sound, including very good bass work and nice catchy structures all around! Though their sound arguably improved with their heavier evolution to Borderline Divine, "Never Enough" strikes me as an underrated disc, and hopefully Jesse & Sam will bring the band back down the road if the time is right! Check the above links to hear this EP in full, and here's the disc opening title track!

That's all for today, but of course, try and hit Andres Duchesne's funeral at The O'Sullivan Donnelly Funeral Home at 4:00 PM today, with the visitation beginning at 2:00 PM. I wish I could go, but I'll be there in spirit, and hopefully we'll all be thinking of his talents and great qualities, over what happened last week. Thanks everyone!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

After a couple days marred by remembrances of two fallen metal musicians, we could use a pick-me-up post, so here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! As always, this monthly feature series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels with a 50% concentration of local metal-relevant videos, so you guys can know more about them, the contents, and why you should watch and subscribe to each. This month, we're looking at two Sault Ontario-specific channels that, though not featuring the highest quality videos, are both notable in their own ways, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! (Edited on October 16th, 2013)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------vflindall's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/vflindall)

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 10th, 2008; Videos posted on January 14th, 2009

Channel Summary: Though not from Sault Ste. Marie from what I can tell, V. Flindall's YouTube channel consists entirely of 11 videos from a January 2009 concert at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto, which featured defunct local hardcore punk quartet Detroit! Capturing at least a half hour of their set, the included videos feature Detroit playing most of the songs from their 2008 demo "Let The Hammers Fly" (save for "Shithouse Ratt" & "KilloRama"), along with "Pyre Driver" & "Bloodlet" from their second/final disc "Brace For Impact", a couple of unreleased originals named "Inhuman Macheens" & "Earthbound", and covers of 7 Seconds & Minor Threat material. As Detroit were known for their very short original songs, four of the posted videos feature two songs each.

Why Should You Watch: I'd check this out to see one of Detroit's earliest concerts, and to enjoy their old school fast paced hardcore fury from a good viewing angle! However, these videos are not of the highest quality, with staticy audio, too warm lighting, and a visibly low resolution, with singer Brenton Ellis' vocals noticeably hard to pick out at times, so if you want higher quality videos, these might not be what you want. (If you want a higher quality alternative for live Detroit videos, try dnahahaha's YouTube channel.) Note as well before subscribing that V. Flindall hasn't used their YouTube channel in at least 3 years.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

DETROIT Lord, Beer Me Strength / Pyredriver '88 : It's hard to pick just one video of Detroit's originals from this channel, so I settled on the one with the most music, that being the third last clip from V. Flindall's uploads, which features Detroit playing their originals "Lord Beer Me Strength" & "Pyre Driver", the latter of which had yet to be released on CD. Brent, Curtis, Mark, and Mikey are in full brutality on the former song, while the latter sees their more punk influenced style, and Brent's on stage charisma & crowd banter are as good as you'd expect! If only the video quality was better overall.

DETROIT Walk Together Rock Together (7SECONDS):
The most viewed video on V. Flindall's channel (and the last) is Detroit's cover of 7 Seconds' "Walk Together Rock Together", which is only slightly longer than most of their originals. The quality is similar to the other videos on this channel, but if you can get past the quality issues, the guys pump out a solid cover here, and their energy's on full display!

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 8th, 2012; Videos posted from then through August 25th, 2012

Channel Summary: I'm not sure who sisuunicorn705 is, but kudos to her for making it to The Canadian Nightclub on August 24th, as ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach was there for karaoke night! He was in Sault Ste. Marie that weekend to shoot scenes for the new movie "Swearnet" with cast members of The Trailer Park Boys, and while in town, one of his stops was at The Canadian, where he and Mike "Bubbles" Smith celebrated his early birthday with some karaoke, and 1:55 of their rendition of AC/DC's "TNT" is in this video! This is admittedly more notable for the circumstances of it all & seeing Sebastian locally in a non-concert setting, as it is cut short, and has VERY loud & staticy audio (so make sure to turn down your volume), but it's still awesome to see this! Note however that sisuunicorn705's only other video is of her cat talking to birds, which is cute, but has no music connections.
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! So, what's coming up next month in this series? We're gonna take a look at former Amethyst/Meatplow drummer Phil Temperao's YouTube channel, which features three solo videos from early last year, including songs from his most recent project Sebastien 6, so look out for this profile on or around January 22nd! Stay tuned as well for more news and notes this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Friday, December 21, 2012

We're back with another news post on this Friday afternoon, and while we're still mourning Andres' loss (remember to attend his services The O'Sullivan Donnelly Funeral Home on Sunday afternoon!), the news continues rolling in, so what's in today's post? We have our latest Christmas surprise song uploads, as well as a memorial note for a sad anniversary being remembered today, but first, here's previews of this weekend's only known Sault Michigan metal concerts!

Charlevoix classic metal trio Peril are returning to Sault Ste. Marie for concerts TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT! These will be their last shows at any location of 2012, and the last heavier shows in the area that I can 100% source for this year, so if you're up for some metal, head on down to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino tonight or tomorrow! Peril's heavy metal cover assault is sure to entertain local fans once again this weekend, so don't miss Jeff, James, and Brooks in their last shows of the year! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and I'd expect both to have 10:00 PM-ish start times. For more details, check the above links! If you're in Sault Michigan this weekend, don't miss Peril, as they are certainly local favourites with their entertaining classic metal sound, and for a preview, here they are covering Ozzy Osbourne' "Crazy Train" a few years back!

Next up, we need to address a sad anniversary, as it was one year ago today that we lost Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold, at just 31 years of age. As you may remember, David's passing deeply shook the local metal scene and beyond, especially considering his talent, success, and promising future with Woods of Ypres and his other projects, and I hope over this holiday season, his family takes solace in the love and respect many of us had for him and his music. 2012 was poised to be Woods of Ypres' biggest year yet, and posthumously, it was in many ways, thanks to their highly rated final studio album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" and the well regarded tribute shows both here and in Toronto this past spring. Personally, I wouldn't consider "W5" to be my favourite of their albums (I'm still partial to "Woods III"), but it's important, well performed, very emotional, and a fitting close to Woods of Ypres' 10 year run. I hope that somehow, somewhere, David knows the impact he left and how much he's regarded and missed locally, in Ontario, and beyond. As he said in "The Will To Give", "there is no destination, there is only the journey." Like with the Duchesne family, keep the Golds in mind over what's sure to be a bittersweet holiday season. R.I.P. David, and stay tuned soon for our first taste of next year's Woods of Ypres tribute album!

And finally for today, here's our third of five surprise Christmas song uploads, those being four songs from defunct Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Infrastrate! Active from roughly 2003-2007, they made a solid name locally before relocating to Ottawa in 2005 for school, and they are sure to be fondly remembered during their mid-2000s run here and there! Infrastrate's lineup featured singer Joey Paciocco, guitarist Patrick Webb, and Nick & Ben Ochoski on bass & drums respectively, and this is the same lineup that recorded their debut EP "Phase I: Commencement" in August 2005 at Cherry Valance Sound. The following year, the band began work with former Laris Records owner & Northern Rocks Magazine founder Chris Rancourt on a full length album at Audio Valley Studios in Perth, with the CD to be released in 2007, but only a couple songs from their 2006 sessions made it online before they quietly dissolved, and the members are largely not in music currently from what I can tell.

Their EP is one of the most elusive recent local albums that I've ever tried to find, with few leads for a physical copy & only two songs ("Hindsight" & "Smoke & Mirrors") from it available for streaming, but at least some extra songs from Infrastrate's 2006 output are online, those being "Causal Nexus" (a better quality re-upload on our channel) & "Tyrannade", so I thought I should post what I had online for Christmas, and in the hopes of gaining some leads to finding "Phase I: Commencement in full". Infrastrate were talented, with a melodic hard rock sound and longer well stocked originals that suited their talents, including solid vocal work and nice guitar melodies! The 2006 songs are arguably better for skill and recording quality, but all four tracks are worth checking out, and hopefully down the road, the guys will turn up again (or at least publicize more old tracks.) Check out "Hindsight" below, and stay tuned for our last Christmas surprise uploads (hint: they're two full albums) on Sunday and Tuesday!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles TOMORROW, and for more news this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

This post was originally slated to be 100% devoted to weekend concert previews, but due to yesterday's tragic loss in the local metal scene, I've bumped our previews of Peril's Sault Michigan concerts to tomorrow's post so we can lead off with the latest news on yesterday's developments. After that though, we have previews of this weekend's heavier concerts in Sault Ontario, so read on below for what you need to know!

We should start this post with updates relating to the sudden passing of Pillory guitarist Andres Duchesne, and if you're a metalhead on the Sault Ontario side of the border, you'll have seen tons of condolences pouring in from band members and friends alike. There has been rumours going around about how he died, but unless something official comes out through his family, Pillory, or local news, I won't go into any detail on here. This isn't TMZ, after all. Andres' obituary was posted onto SooToday this evening, so you can read it at this location. Through there, I can confirm that his memorial service will take place at The O'Sullivan Donnelly Funeral Home (less than a mile from The Nicolet Tavern) at 215 St. James Street on Sunday at 4:00 PM. Visitation is from from 2:00-4:00 PM that day, and condolences may be given by phone or online at this location. Donations to The John Howard Society would be appreciated by his family. I personally can't make the funeral (like with David Gold's, this Detroit tripped was planned too far in advance), but I'll be there in spirit, and hopefully lots of his friends, bandmates, and family are there to pay tribute to him and his life!

When any further information on Andres' arrangements, Pillory's future, any more tributes, and anything else related to yesterday's sad news comes in, I'll be sure to have them here, but if you can make it to his services on Sunday, please do so. R.I.P. Andres, you are not forgotten!

Now, let's get to some slightly happier news, starting with a big multi-band metal/punk show at The Algonquin Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Entitled "Survivors at the End of the World!" (an obvious connection to Mayan doomsday theories), this is the second concert of this type to take place at The Algonquin Hotel's downstairs bar this year, and it will see the long awaited returns of two prominent local bands and two other recently seen acts (all but one of which are making their Algonquin Pub debut), so who's on tap? According to what I've heard and the listed band order, the headlining band will be local blue Chinese metal crash punk quartet Sykotyk Rampage, fresh off their most recent appearance at The Locals Attack last month, and they should have a lot of fun alternative hard rock and bluesy originals for their growing fan base tomorrow, helping close out a busy year for them! I believe guitarist Dirk Becker will be providing sound with the Sykotyk Sound Company again, similarly to promoter J.D. Pearce's other recent shows. Prior to them is local punk/classical trio RedD Monkey, in their first local show since The Jamestown Massacre in August!

Planning to record a new album over the holidays, RedD Monkey have been busy through late 2012 with Canadian tour dates, and after a longer than usual wait between shows, hopefully many of their fans and friends are at The Algonquin tomorrow to rock out with their cello infused punk favourites! Also returning after a long absence is local deathcore quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre, who will be playing their first show in almost 5 months tomorrow following their collective move to London for college. Look for an explosive set of death metal and hardcore originals and covers in their return, and hopefully Steve, Andrew, Adam, and Kyle set off some big stuff with their return tomorrow! The lineup is rounded out by local rock cover quintet Lazer Queen in just their second concert, and after a successful debut last month, look for an entertaining set of their diverse covers from all over the rock spectrum! Notably, V.D.M. bassist Adam Veale revealed on Facebook last night that tonight's show is dedicated in Andres' memory, and given all of the recent links to him, it's extremely fitting.

With his Pillory bandmates Jon Tiberi & Bret Shuttleworth in Lazer Queen, plus both them and Sykotyk Rampage sharing the stage with Pillory at their debut last month, I'd expect a lot of heavy hearts tomorrow night, but from what I knew of Andres, a metal tribute would be the way to go, so hopefully this show's a huge hit! Admission is $5 for this 19+ show, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, click here! This should be an awesome concert, so go rock out, remember Andres, and enjoy the returns and metal/punk action! For a preview, here's Sykotyk Rampage playing their song "Sicked" at The Algonquin in October!

Finally for this post, we have one more heavier concert going down, and it involves local hard rock band The Suicide Kings! The newer quartet are continuing with their surprisingly busy stretch of concerts on Saturday night at The Nicolet Tavern for what they are calling a "Survival Party" following the supposed Mayan apocalypse. Note that they are only playing on Saturday due to bassist Mitch Sirie's show with The Bear Hunters in Sudbury tomorrow night, but guitarist Steven Flint told me in a recent Facebook conversation that all of the band's currently announced 2013 dates are the full weekend (not just Saturday as was originally posted.) The original plugs weren't clear, but my apologies for any confusion! Their Saturday show this weekend is largely the same as their others for content and format, with a 10:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit, but as revealed on their Facebook page last night, this concert will also be in Andres' memory (especially as he played in The Bear Hunters' original lineup with Mitch), so hopefully he's there somehow in spirit! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should also be an entertaining concert of hard and alternative rock covers and originals, so head to The Nic on Saturday night for The Suicide Kings' latest show, and for a preview, here they are playing three songs at Toystock last month!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, along with this month's YouTube Channel Profile on Saturday! Thanks everyone!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Sault Metal Scene and local musicians were shocked to learn this evening that Pillory guitarist Andres Duchesne has passed away. Nothing official has been posted from band or local news sources, but his personal Facebook page is filling up with condolences from family and friends, which more or less confirms this sad story. Any other specifics have yet to be made public, but I'll try and keep you guys updated on future developments and arrangements as they come in. Andres was best known in the local music scene for his early 2010s guitar work in local metal bands, memorably being a founding member of local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters in 2010, as well as having a stint with Social Suicide from 2011 through earlier this year. He had recently re-emerged locally as a guitarist in the local thrash metal band Pillory, who debuted at The Locals Attack at The Canadian last month, in what proved to be his last local concert appearance. Numerous videos of his guitar work are online from both his band repetoire and his solo YouTube channel, and those who know him will attest to his musical abilities.

I won't pretend to have known Andres well, but whenever we talked, he struck me as a quiet but very friendly guy, and through mutual friends and coverage on the site, I was very familiar with his band work and abilities. He was a devoted metalhead with clear guitar skill, and it's a shame that he didn't gain more of a foothold into live gigging bands before his sudden passing. I hope Pillory continue on as a band despite what happened, as I'm sure Andres would want them to stay together and continue melting faces on the local stage! Though they're two completely different artists, I can't help but recall the passing of Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold a little more than a year ago, as it's just sad that we've lost two local guitarists in consecutive Decembers, let alone right before Christmas in both cases. No one should ever lose a loved one during the holidays, and I send my deepest condolences to Andres' family and friends at this time. I hope that, however possible, those who love and miss him can focus on the good aspects of his life and music over the holidays, rather than what came out today.

We'll have more on any future developments relating to the arrangements, Pillory, and more as it comes in, but for now, keep Andres' family & friends in your thoughts (especially over the holidays.) I wanted to share a video of his work hear to close this post, and I thought this video of Pillory playing their song "Fatal Woods" at their debut show last month would fit well. In hindsight, this was arguably from his biggest moment in the local scene, and his skills are on full display. R.I.P. Andres, you are missed!

Continuing into our surprisingly slow pace for local metal news this December, we do have some news to get to this week, but because a lot of stuff I have this week is in media formats, I thought I'd start with a local metal video showcase! Most of it is actually new uploads from our YouTube channel, including this week's classic video and our first Christmas surprise song uploads, but first, here's a brand new album upload from a recently prolific local band!

On Saturday, local grunge quartet Haggith uploaded their first live album (and third release overall), entitled "Flight 75" to their YouTube channel! Though the album's formal paid release won't occur until next month, we can now hear all 11/12 tracks of "Flight 75" for free like with their earlier albums, so what should you know about it? The cover art's not bad (though the title seems tacked on), and the track listing is more or less the same as was in their live compilation video from their Bushplane Musical Madness set, albeit with some differences. "Public Enemy", "These Four Walls", and "No Cure For Insanity" are not present on the "Flight 75" track listing, with "Chaos In The Streets Of Aftermath" and "Rage Train" being added on, while the track order mostly flows with the live video (save for the song changes and "I Am" & "75" switching spots.) A new review of a Haggith album on the site won't come until the spring (to avoid any biases), but I'll say that the recording quality is pretty good given how it was captured, and at times, it's hard to tell it was from a live concert!

Until we get a chance to formally buy "Flight 75", check out Haggith's first live album below, and when the guys fully return from the holidays, we'll have even more news from them as it comes in!

Next up, here's this week's classic video! With their long awaited return from London coming up THIS FRIDAY, I figured it'd make sense to tie in this upload with local deathcore band The Valentine's Day Massacre! In particular, we're tying this in with frontman Steve Rhodes, who (as you may remember) fronted defunct local death metal band State of Misery off & on from 2010 through this summer. Most of State of Misery's videos have made it to YouTube already in one form or another, but there's at least one outlier from their early days, that being the last of their four December 2010 jam session videos! Featuring their original/final lineup, this was one of four videos from this same day that were posted onto the band's Facebook group at the time, including performances of their originals "Bleed" and "Don't Break The Silence", and their cover of Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell", but we are only now just putting the last of these four videos (mostly shot by Ashley Lacasse) onto YouTube. It's of an original song (name unclear), and like the other videos from this jam session, the audio is a bit scratchy, but State of Misery's early promise and brutality are clear!

This video was uploaded to the band's Facebook group on January 3rd of last year, and you can see the original file at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=116105025128457. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit goes to Ashley & State of Misery for this video, I'm just trying to share it with a deserving wider audience! State of Misery are missed, but the members are still active in exciting newer projects, so give the last of their early jam session videos a look below, and so see Steve with The V.D.M. on Friday at The Algonquin Hotel!

We'll close today's post with the return of something I gave you guys last December, that being Christmas surprise videos! For the holiday season, I thought it'd be a nice idea to upload some rare or previously unavailable audio tracks from local metal bands onto our YouTube channel once again, so like last year, I've picked 5 batches of songs from 5 different local bands to post as a present for you guys! The first couple went up on Monday, with three more just having been posted this morning, and the others will go up on Friday, Sunday, and finally, on Christmas Day. So, what surprise songs did we start with?

Well, I went all the way back to 2004 for our first Christmas uploads, as these are two early audio recordings from defunct classic hard rock quintet That's Chester! We covered these on the site last year, but as a refresher, guitarist Gabe Tessaro had posted two covers of theirs onto a personal page of his that was linked through the band's former website. These date back to That's Chester's original lineup, which featured Gabe and Eugene Orlando on guitar, Aubrey Falls on bass, and Ric Datson on drums, alongside original singer Richard Fullerton, who's now musically active in the Ottawa area. The songs, which I assume were recorded at a jam session, are covers of Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down" and (as embedded below) Kiss' "Detroit Rock City", and even at this early stage of their 8 year run, they're rocking out well! Ritch arguably has a better range than his successors in That's Chester, and while there's the occasional misstep, this veteran local band has the chops to pull off these hard rock classics, and it's great to hear some rare older recordings of theirs! Check the above links to hear the Queen cover, and here's That's Chester losing their mind with "Detroit Rock City"!

And finally, our second Christmas surprise uploads for you guys are three original demos from inactive local metal band Sativa Rose! We also plugged these on the site last year, but as a reminder, drummer Alex Palmer uploaded three instrumental demos of the band's three original songs ("Fall From Grace", "Bellows of the Beast", and "Deliver Us") to the streaming music website Grooveshark circa July of last year, as part of a (now deleted) playlist of their setlist at the time. Sativa Rose's mid-2011 lineup is present here, with Alex joined by now-Valentine's Day Massacre bandmates Andrew Angelic on guitar & Adam Veale on bass, alongside current Winkstinger guitarist Anthony Orazietti. I assume that the demos were instrumental due to the band's search for a singer last summer, so they forgone having Andrew or Adam sing for these more formal non-live demos, but versions with new singer Marisa Valois never turned up before Sativa Rose went inactive earlier this year. The recording quality isn't bad, and the members show some blistering metal chops with great solos, but the vocals are missed, as they never played these songs live in an instrumental format.

Most of these songs can still be heard on Grooveshark at this location, but "Deliver Us" was quietly deleted at some point, and as I don't think any videos exist of it, I think our YouTube upload of it is the only publically viewable version of the song. These are solid quality demos from Sativa Rose's peak, so check out "Fall From Grace" below, and give the other Sativa Rose originals a listen above! Stay tuned on Friday for our next Christmas surprise uploads!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news hopefully tomorrow, weekend concert previews on Friday, our next Christmas surprises, this month's YouTube Channel profiles, and much more! Thanks everyone!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

After another quiet stretch for news, we'll break the slow streak with last month's poll results and this month's new poll! As you may remember, last month's poll posed this question to you guys: Which ACTIVE out of town band with a Saultite in their lineup do you most want to see next at a local concert? The vote totals dropped off a ton from last year's poll of this type, with just 16 total votes, but we got some clear results, and thanks to everyone for voting! Last year, Munising, Michigan metal band Infathom (backed by a fan campaign) won the poll by a landslide, and did indeed return to the local stage at LemmaFest, but did they repeat their victory? The final results are below!

Fifth Way (4 votes, 25%)

The Lust Boys (4 votes, 25%)

Infathom (2 votes, 12⅔%)

Maximum RNR (2 votes, 12⅔%)

Other (2 votes, 12⅔%)

Bury Your Demons (1 vote, 6%)

Mothership (1 vote, 6%)

Azriahl (0 votes)

The Dyadics (0 votes)

Genocya (0 votes)

The Heatseeking Moisture Missiles (0 votes)

The Line Drawn (0 votes)

NeanderTHRALL (0 votes)

RedStone Riot (0 votes)

S.C.A.R. (0 votes)

Violet Fuse (0 votes)

What do you guys think? Well, in ascending order, I'm very surprised that more chosen bands didn't receive any votes, especially for any of Ash Richtig's Windsor-based bands. Sure, most haven't played in the Soo yet, but you'd think fans/friends of theirs would have voted! I am surprised to see Bury Your Demons (who we've only minimally covered on here) and the now inactive Mothership each got a vote for their 6th place tie, which helps indicate that they have local fans, and I promise we'll do a proper profile on Bury Your Demons in early 2013! A three way tie for 3rd place with 2 votes each went to Infathom, Maximum RNR, and "Other", and while I can't speak for voters on the latter, I'm surprised that votes fell for these two bands, especially as they were the top 2 bands in this poll last year. Hopefully we'll see them locally in 2013 though! But your co-winners, tied for 1st place with 4 votes and 25% of the total each, were Fifth Way & The Lust Boys, both of which have strong local followings of their own! Fifth Way are certainly no strangers to the area, but The Lust Boys' first local show was scuttled due to vehicle trouble on their tour in the spring.

I have solid faith that Zak and Benny will bring their respective bands to town in the near future (The Lust Boys are especially long overdue), but their improved finishes from last month's poll are encouraging, and hopefully we'll see more out of town bands with Saultite members in concert in 2013! Thanks to everyone for voting!

Now, what will be our last poll of 2012? Well, I think it's about time to launch the first of our "Favourite _____ of 2012" polls, and this time around, we'll start with a poll we debuted last year, that being for this question: What is your favourite NEW local metal/hard rock band of 2012? Following the bumper crop of new metal bands in 2010, I launched this poll last year to cover the smaller amount of new bands in 2011 ("Other" won, but the top voted band was The Valentine's Day Massacre), and it makes sense to bring it back in 2012! That said, the number of new metal/hard rock bands has fallen even further (in quantity, not quality), but before we reveal the choices, just some ground rules for inclusion. Like last year's poll, we're only counting bands who both publically launched in 2012 (bands from 2011 aren't "new") AND have played their first public concert this year. As well, bands who were just renamed (i.e. Borderline Divine) don't count, as they existed before this year with another name. Note as well that the lack of Sault Michigan bands isn't an intentional slight, as I honestly can't name a heavier band across the river that both formed and debuted live in 2012.

With that said, I only know of 6 verifiably heavier bands to have launched and gigged in 2012, but there's a lot of talent and promise in these bands, so what are your choices for this poll on your favourite new local metal/hard rock bands of 2012? Read on below!

Haggith: Of this year's new heavier bands, Haggith have probably made the biggest impact in the shortest time, with two studio albums already released to go along with a number of high profile concerts and ambitious plans from this summer onward! With alumni of Havadder, 20 Pack of Marshmallows, S.C.A.R., and Acention in their lineup, the talent is there for their entertaining grunge/alternative rock sound, but are Haggith your favourite new local metal/hard rock band of 2012?

Lucky 13: Debuting at Toystock last month, this new band featuring Aftersight, Wishbone, Turner Up, and Gully Yodelers alumni made a splash in their first concert with a set full of 1990s alternative & hard rock covers that helped set them apart from the other cover bands that night! Though we've heard little from Lucky 13 since, and I don't believe they have an online page at present, did their debut show solidify them as your top new hard rock band this year?

Pillory: This new metal quartet (featuring alumni of Late & Loud, Crimson Crusade, and The Bear Hunters) brought pure thrash metal back to the local scene in a big way in mid-2012, with fast paced technical originals and a brutal live debut at The Locals Attack at The Canadian last month! Hard at work on new material and hopefully more shows, have Pillory's thrash onslaight endeared you the most of the new local bands this year?

Skeyes of Seven: No band had a bigger debut concert this year than Skeyes of Seven, whose modern hard rock sound brought them a great response when opening for Anvil this past July! With members of Sense of Truth, Half Past, Tripod the Dog, Driving Dave Home, and Cherry Crush in their lineup, the promise and talent is there, but activity has been slow in late 2012, with the band mainly working on new music since. Have what we've seen of Skeyes of Seven put them at the top for new bands to you?

The Suicide Kings: Another band who's made a prolific impact on the local scene in 2012 is The Suicide Kings, the new alternative/hard rock quartet featuring members of Wishbone, The Bear Hunters, and Limelight. Booking a surprisingly high number of concerts already, including slots at Toystock and Bushplane Musical Madness, their diverse covers and first few originals are serving them well locally already, but are The Suicide Kings your favourite new hard rock band of the year?

With Blood Builds Character: Essentially a successor to the recently inactive March Into Regression, local hardcore outfit With Blood Builds Character launched with big expectations in July, but they've only played at the F.A.T.I.L. Requiem in Laird in August since, with extremely few updates following, despite a promising lineup (with alumni of State of Misery, Fountain of Betrayal, and Constructed Apocalypse enlisted.) Though their status is in limbo, are W.B.B.C. your favourite new metal band of 2012?

Other: Did you like another new band more this year? Did you prefer a band that doesn't quite cross the hard rock line, like Lazer Queen or Griphook? How about a band that has yet to play live, like 415E or Giwakwa? Or maybe it's something completely out of left field genre wise, or an existing band that only played their first show in 2012? If your favourite new metal/hard rock band wasn't covered in the above choices, vote for "Other"!

VOTE TODAY!!! You guys have until January 18th to vote for your favourite new metal/hard rock bands of 2012, so cast your votes in the form on the left of the page, and hopefully we'll cull some interesting results this time around! That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post tonight or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Before we get to this post, I just wanted to send my condolences to everyone affected by the school shooting in Connecticut yesterday. To do that to children right before Christmas is just disgusting, and hopefully something's done to prevent something similar from ever happening again. Now, it's time to clear out much of my current news cache, so we have lots of updates on this Saturday morning! Today, we have a new drumming video, a band's local concert search, the latest Haggith news, and more, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from a band we've covered a lot on recently!

The Suicide Kings have yet another new concert on their ledger for this month, as the new hard rock quartet will return to The Nicolet Tavern one week from today! Just announced on Facebook yesterday, the band is hyping this show as a "survival party", given that it takes place on December 22nd, the day after the supposed Mayan apocalypse (note that there is no Friday show next weekend, as bassist Mitch Sirie will be in Sudbury with the returning Bear Hunters for the Doomsday Massacre metal concert that day.) This show comes just two weeks after their most recent stop at The Nic, and hopefully their originals and hard/alternative rock covers go over swimmingly once again next week! Admission is likely free for this 19+ show, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Now with 6 advertised concerts on the horizon, The Suicide Kings are definitely staying busy, which is great for fans, but hopefully they can plug future shows a bit closer together or in clumps, just for convenience sake. Stay tuned for more from The Suicide Kings soon, including maybe more new concerts?

Next up, here's the latest studio updates from local grunge quartet Haggith! According to their Facebook page on Tuesday, the guys have completed the conversion and post production for their projected live album "Flight 75", which is on track for a release in January. An album cover has been chosen, but has yet to be publically revealed, so keep an eye out for updates! They also noted that they're working on upgrading recording equipment so they can hopefully record material in an analog format, and then digitize it, which would offer better sound quality on future CDs. If this goes through, their planned third studio album "Deuce" would be the first recorded this way. I'm all for improving the sound if this will help, as their recordings are good but can be muddled at times, so we'll have to see what comes of this! Also, I swear I saw on a band member's personal Facebook page that they were currently on a minor break (partly because drummer Mike Haggith is in his hometown of Windsor for the holidays), but I can't find the post to source it or cull other details. Still, look out for lots more from the Haggith camp soon!

Also today, can you help bring a metal band here for a show on Monday? Short notice, yes, but I was only able to slot it into a post today. Reader Jeffery Mills brought to my attention in a recent e-mail that Vancouver hardcore quartet Machines were hoping to play a local concert on Monday during their current Canadian tour run, as they're passing between Hamilton & Thunder Bay that day. You may recognize Machines as featuring 3 ex-members of Callahan, who played at least once in Sault Ontario back in 2009, so there's a familiar sound and essence with this band, and it'd be good to see their melodic hardcore sound in town on Monday night! If anyone out there can help book, promote, or host Machines for a possible late notice concert on Monday night, message the band at this location, and give them a listen, as they have talent and a sound that would go over well with newer hardcore fans!

Let's not leave out Sault Michigan in this post, so here's a new solo performance video from London Gentlemen/ex-Nixxon Dixxon drummer Jake LaLonde! Uploaded to his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is his cover of Halestorm's "I Miss The Misery", as filmed above his kit (similarly to his other recent drum covers), albeit in a sepia tone for some reason. Jake's drumming is on form as you would expect for this recent hard rock hit, and his skills are clearly visible, so check out Jake's newest solo drum cover below!

Finally for today, here's three shorter assorted news stories from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band or venue name:

I've moved Coch's Corner from our Sault Ontario Concert Venue Info section to the Other Sault Ontario Metal Links, as its been a year since a hard rock band last played live at 708 Queen Street East. While the last Coch's Corner metal show at the old Bay Street location was only in February, the venue's current acoustic direction & recent slowed band activity haven't boded well for metal acts. Hopefully heavier music finds it way back to Coch's Corner/708 Queen at some point in the future though!

Keeping with their recent onslaught of updates related to their new CD release, local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet have launched a SoundCloud page featuring streaming copies of the 10 tracks from the iTunes release of their self titled album! Nice little bonus to preview their work, so check the above links to stream the songs (and contact band members for the two unposted covers from the CD pressings), and if you like what you hear, buy Destroilet's new CD!

A recent Facebook campaign has begun to try and get local horror punk/metal standouts Frightlight as an opening band for Marilyn Manson's Sudbury concert on February 1st! If successful, it would be Frightlight's first ever Sudbury show & their biggest concert to date, and there are already 48 likes in support of the idea, so if you want to voice your support of this goal, click here! Fingers crossed!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news shortly, including this month's poll and our first Christmas surprise uploads beginning next week! Thanks everyone!